08/10/2026
In 2007, a college student from Minnesota named Amanda Lee worked at UPS. She enlisted in the Navy wanting more.
Her first dream wasn't to fly. It was to fix jets. She became an aviation electronics technician at Naval Air Station Oceana, working on F/A-18 Super Hornets every single day.
Then came the airshow.
She watched the Blue Angels fly in formation-blue and gold jets, perfect timing, impossible grace. She decided right there: I'm going to fly those jets.
She earned her commission. Fought through flight school.
Earned her Wings of Gold in 2016. Then she climbed into the same F/A-18 she used to repair.
Two combat deployments on USS Harry S. Truman.
1,400+ flight hours. 225+ carrier arrested landings. Flying inches from disaster.
July 2022. The Blue Angels called her name.
But here's what made it historic: The Blue Angels have existed for 55+ years. Hundreds of women served. Never one in the cockpit of a jet.
March 11, 2023. El Centro, California.
Lt. Amanda "Stalin" Lee climbed into her blue and gold F/ A-18E/F for her first public flight as a Blue Angels pilot.
Left Wing. No. 3 in the diamond. Flying 18 inches from her teammates at 500+ mph.
She performed the Double Farvel. The Diamond Roll. The Diamond 360.
And somewhere in every crowd, a girl stood at the fence watching. For the first time, seeing a woman fly a Blue Angels jet.
Amanda Lee's tour with the Blues is complete. She's back in the fleet, still flying the Super Hornet, still training the next generation.
In 2025, she was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame.
She started with a wrench. She ended in the cockpit.
Making history. Changing what's possible.
